LeBron James and Michael Jordan’s careers might be separated by more remain bound by GOAT debate. Most people bounce to and forth between the pair. But Isiah Thomas is not one of those people. He has never been someone who has teeter-tottered between the two. In his opinion, LeBron James is the greatest player ever, and it isn’t even close.
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Unlike many of the talking heads in the media, Thomas actually went toe-to-toe with Michael Jordan. He was the leader of the Detroit Pistons during their ‘Bad Boy Pistons’ era and for the early portion of Jordan’s career, Thomas was his kryptonite.
Their competitive battles led to a genuine rivalry. Although many years have passed since their heated exchanges, no love has been lost. Thomas has always been quite critical of Jordan as a player and continues to testify against the church of the 6 time NBA champion.
Thomas spoke with DeMarcus Cousins and the Run It Back crew on different NBA eras. The Pistons legend ensured to note that LeBron James will probably be more appreciated once he hangs up his boots.
“This is what I don’t understand about your era,” Thomas said. “You guys are playing with arguably the greatest player to ever play. Y’all treat him like he ain’t nothing.”
“Instead of plugging y’all era up, y’all go back and say [the 1980s and 90s] era was the greatest. Michael Jordan is the greatest. Nobody could ever be greater than Michael Jordan. LeBron James sitting there holding every single record,” he proclaimed.
Thomas does have an excellent point. As great as Jordan was, he doesn’t boast any of the major statistical records. James, on the other hand, is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. In addition, he is in the top-10 in assists, steals and three-pointers made. When it comes to distinguishing the all-time greats, the Hall of Famer preaches the importance of stats.
“When we talk about track, we talk about tennis, we talk about football. Arguably, the best players or athletes in those sports they hold the world records. [Jordan] leads in no statistical basketball category. But yet there’s an argument of him being the best,” he asserted.
Using the same logic, Thomas also believes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a better case for the GOAT label, something he has confessed himself. Nostalgia seems to blind people’s opinion on this matter, according to Thomas. The five-time All-Star even went as far as to mock Jordan.
“When y’all talk about the greatest, y’all talk about the guy that gave you some shoes. Y’all say we’re hating on y’all, you’re hating yourself,” Thomas added.
Thomas made sure he took the opportunity to throw a shot at Jordan in the process. Jordan doesn’t speak to the media, so we shouldn’t expect any sort of retaliation. However, it will be interesting to see if Thomas’ comments sparked a fire for players of the modern generation to advocate for the current greats.
